Independence of Algeria

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence, on Tuesday July 5, Rachid Koraïchi, an internationally renowned Algerian artist, announced that he would donate a work to the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis. This new work, the sketch of which was presented to residents and associations this Sunday during a popular and festive banquet organized at Parc Georges Valbon in La Courneuve, will be installed in the park from November 1st.

Rachid Koraïchi was born in Algeria, in Ain Beïda, in 1947. After training at the Beaux-Arts in Algiers, he joined the Beaux-Arts and Decorative Arts in Paris. His work, which engraves the connection between painting and sculpture, and focuses on all materials and techniques, has been exhibited worldwide (at the Venice Biennale in 2001, at MoMa in New York...).

A consummate artist, also a graduate in town planning and architecture, Rachid Koraïchi is part of a deeply militant approach. Nourished since childhood on Sufi philosophy, an ardent defender of peace and interreligious dialogue, he notably created a "garden-cemetery" for migrants who died at sea, in Zarzis in Tunisia.

A work in memory of the victims who fought for the independence of Algeria

In the pursuit of his commitment, and on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the independence of Algeria, Rachid Koraïchi wished to donate a work to the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis, in memory of the victims who fought for the independence of Algeria.

Entitled Le Vigilant, this monumental and unprecedented sculpture will be installed in the Georges Valbon Departmental Park in La Courneuve, next to the Victoria Montou Park House. On its base will be inscribed a message in homage to the women and men who "sacrificed their lives in the name of an ideal of justice and freedom, for the independence of Algeria". Its inauguration will take place on November 1, on the occasion of the Algerian national holiday.

“As we celebrate the sixty years of Algeria's independence, the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis continues its series of events to understand the major stages that have marked the Algerian independence process. With Dominique Dellac, vice president in charge of cultural heritage, memory, tourism and artistic and cultural education, we are delighted with our collaboration with Rachid Koraïchi so that art, in the public space, also contributes to bring us into the age of memorial maturity. It is a fight that we continue to wage tirelessly and whose importance we particularly measure in Seine-Saint-Denis, a territory where the history between France and Algeria resonates even more strongly. I am convinced that it is only on this condition that we will enable our two countries to look their past in the face, and to better envisage their future together.” - Stéphane TROUSSEL , president of the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis